I've seen some of the older posts about kiting on Big Island, but thought I'd ask in a new post 'cause kiting gets bigger every year, and there's now a free place for me to stay, so hoping to get some kiting in on the big island.

What time of year is good and bad? kite size? I'm only 140lbs so 7m is my Squamish kite, and 10m is my light wind set up.

Is Anaehoomalu Bay the go-to spot?
Some posts make it sound pretty sketchy. Is it? I've been recreational kiting for about 7 years now, pretty confident, but I do still occasionally do something stupid that leads to a long walk or at our local beach it's just a quick and free jetski pick up. I don't want to end up drifting to Tahiti or beyond. One of those 'bring a buddy' kind of spots?

I lived on the Big Island for a couple years, did less kitesurfing than any other period of my life. A-bay is probably the best place to go. It is alright, but definitely not worth traveling for. Like pretty much every other coast of the big island, it is brutal. Sharp lava rock instead of sand. You don't want to be stuck walking in at low tide (happened to me when the wind died, my feet were in really bad shape afterwards). In general, there isn't very good wind. A 12m kite would probably be the standard size for a smaller guy, and don't expect to kite every day. There is a local crew that is really helpful, I strongly recommend talking to them before going out. A lot of people think that since it is so close to Maui, it must be at least almost as good, and this couldn't be farther from the truth.

I'll sum it up like this: kitesurfing is my single favorite sport, but next time I head back to the Big Island, I'm not going to bring kiting gear. World class diving, wonderful snorkeling, amazing hiking, good birding (in a few spots), volcanos, cloud forests. You can get a handful of mediocre kiting sessions in, but you'll probably have a better time doing something that the Big Island does really well (which is a lot). If you want to kite, go to Maui, or Oahu, or Kauai. You can kite on the Big Island, but it really isn't worth traveling for, and if you find yourself there, you can probably find something better to do. If you live there, it is very different- there is ok kitesurfing, but it just isn't really worth traveling for, in my opinion.

Hi TMC, thanks for the info, very disappointed to hear as I may find myself there for a few months and was hoping I could kite. I'm not very experienced so the idea of being smashed around on rocks isn't at all appealing. I'm also only about 100lbs so the light wind isn't as much of an issue.

My friend who visited there did send a photo of people kiting off Waikoloa, have you tried that? It was a white sandy beach.

Anyway, if I'm there I'll try to meet some kiters and talk to them before attempting anything.